The Culture Shock from Romania to Spain

First of all, I want to explain my reasons behind choosing to explore cultural differences.

The reason I chose this topic was that it's important to get to know and to explore other civilisations and, as a foreigner, I suffered from culture shock when I lived in Spain, the country was my home for 6 months.

Furthermore, I think it's fascinating to expose the life changes you go through living in another culture, with other people and speaking another language.

The difficulty in writing about these ideas is in not criticising or favouring any culture. I think that they are all wonderful and even more so when you get to "feel them" yourself and not just reading or hearing other people talk about them. Every one has its unique and spellbinding customs that characterise their people, music, history and life in general.

As for the sources I used to write this piece, I used my own experience. I think that the reactions and the changes that I have been through shed light on the best of the culture shock that I went through in Spain. Also, with books like ¨Managing cultural differences¨ by Philip Moran, you can read about other cultural experiences that have had a major impact on the foreigners, in European countries as well as in Asia and America.

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When you're dealing with a new country, a foreign language and a different culture from your own, it's essential that we are open and receptive to change.

From the first day I arrived in this magnificent country, full of passion and colour, I felt the air was hotter, the atmosphere was much more relaxed and the life of the Spanish people, that was much happier and more laid-back that the life I was used to.

There are things that were a bit difficult for me to get used to and others that were easy to adapt to. I mean, it's impossible not to enjoy the heat, the parties, the tapas, the tourists, the Mediterranean diet, the siesta. On the contrary, it was hard for me to eat so late or to sleep in the morning.

Next, I'm going to present some situations in which the cultural differences shocked me in my daily life and then I'll tell you in detail about 2 real situations.

From the beginning, I noticed that Spanish people speak very loudly, even shouting I'd say, regardless of whether they're talking one on one or in a group. Their way of communicating is very dynamic, it's clear that they put a lot of energy into what they say. The rhythm of the language is not very different from how it is in Romanian, because we speak fast, too, but not so loudly.

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Another weird thing was the greeting and the kisses on the cheek.

They greet each other in the street, in the lift or in the shops, even if they don't know each other. This seemed like a very lovely gesture that showed respect and friendliness. Concerning the kisses they give each other every time they meet someone for the first time or even if they see each other by chance, this was definitely something unusual and strange. We Romanians usually shake hands or just say "Hello! " but here the people are much more friendly and nice. I think they're so happy because Spanish people tend to have more fun, to spend more, to travel and so they're a lot less worried about things.

It was very interesting to observe that in Iberian culture, they don't use the words please and thank you very much. It's because they're not accustomed to doing it, not because they're impolite or rude. If, for example, I go to buy something and a lady helps me to find a kind of chocolate, I say thank you, and again when she goes, if I go to the till she smiles at me and I say thank you again, and when I leave the shop, I'll say it yet again.

Another thing that never stops surprising me is that they don't tip here. In my country, for example, we almost always leave 5% or 10% of the total cost for the waiter. And while we're on this topic, I want to add that, in Spain, a good bar is one that has ashes and tobacco on the floor, tables without ashtrays and a bit of music.

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When I saw that our new flatmate, who is from Cádiz, was eating a lot of fish and fruit, using olive oil on almost all of his food and having melon and ham or grapes and radishes together, I got that it was the Mediterranean diet. It was something that was very easy for me to get used to and I started to eat much healthier and did much more sport.

The rest between 14:30 and 17:00 that they call the siesta, it's a Spanish custom that is beginning to spread throughout Europe. Because of this, everything happens much later. The streets are usually full of people all the time and they eat 2 or 3 hours later than in other countries, for example, they have dinner at around 21:00.

I found it difficult to get used to this break between classes or when the shops would shut for a few hours.

For the Spanish, it's perfectly normal to cross the street at a red light, at the big crossings as well as in the small streets. I get the impression that, here, it doesn't matter what the colour of the lights is but rather if a car is coming or not. In the beginning, I was the only one who would wait for the green light and I was left all alone on the pavement, but as time went on, I started to cross at red lights, too. It was very easy to get used to this but I have to be careful because if the police catch me doing this in Romania, I get a fine automatically.

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As I said before, I'm going to give 2 situations that were the most staggering culture shocks.

The students don't deign to arrive at their classes until 25 minutes after they start and the professors don't say anything. For me, it's also unbelievable that they address them informally. I found it impossible to call the professors' by their first name and I always preferred to say "professor" simply. In my country, the professors are very strict with this kind of thing. If we arrive late, they don't let us into the class or if we're more that 10 minutes late, they tell us off. Regarding how we greet them or the way they teach us, we have to be very attentive and always address them formally saying Sir or Madam. One difference is that here, things are sorted out much better and I saw this from the first day.

The Spanish, and especially the people of Granada, know how to keep a city really clean. I say this because they collect the recycling and clean the streets every night, plus they look after the parks really well.

What surprised me even more was seeing that all the films were dubbed and universal programs like Word, Trados and Yahoo translated and had a different layout. The title of the American film "The Glass House" was translated as "Last Suspicion" (Ultima Sospecha). It was a film about orphans who find out that their tutors had something to do with their parents' murder. The kids, Ruby and Rhett, who have inherited $4 million, move to Malibu with the Glass's, old friends of the family and try to solve the mystery.

The Spanish title progresses the plot of the film and reveals a very important aspect of the protagonists' role in the film. I think that the translator hasn't made the best decision and didn't respect the original text. A translation as simple as "La casa de los Glass" (The Glass's house) would be perfect because the film isn't about the material glass, it's about a family with the surname Glass.

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Even the name of the supermarket "Auchan", which is of French origin, was changed to "Al Campo". From the point of view of a translator, this can come across as a bit strange. Why use that name? Well because "Auchan" is just a name and doesn't translate or have a universal meaning, but "Al Campo" hints at rural things, the countryside and agriculture. It could be a mistake or it could mean that the products in this supermarket are natural, grown without herbicides or just to create the impression of a rural space full of riches.

Thanks to films and TV programs being subtitled in my country, kids and others have been able to listen to and learn English and Spanish.

There are a lot of differences between the 2 cultures but these were the ones that impacted me the most. Culture shock is different from person to person but I take it as something positive and interesting. After such an incredible experience, nothing will ever be the same because I've got to know another way of living, andother way of working, having fun and eating. This opened a bigger insight on the world in general, not just in the field of translation and interpretation.

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